Paper Planes
by Scorpiius
Summary: Tobias Eaton swore off bad girls the night his girlfriend of two years cheats on him with a team mate. That begins the journey of understanding Beatrice Prior, the daring, little, blonde girl with a loud mouth and a nasty reputation who crashes into his life with no plans of leaving until she makes a mark. Will he stick to his rules or take the leap into a new and exciting life?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Helloooooooooo**

 **Some of you might know me as the author of _One of the Boys_ and if you read that and are devoted to it, you're probs pissed at me for not updating... sorry. I really fucking hate how that story turned out so I don't like writing for it, again, sorry.**

 **Anyways, this story has been on my mind for FOREVERRRRR, but I never posted it and I'm in a Divergent mood due to Allegiant coming soon!**

 **SO, here we are and here's the full summary:**

 **Tobias Eaton has never stepped a toe out of line in all his 17 years of living. He's been a good boy- an honors student, star quarterback, and a popular kid in the running for prom king and a spot at Duke.**

 **Well, that was before his girlfriend cheated on him with his team mate on their two year anniversary, starting a spark that blew into a fire.** **The night Tobias catches his girlfriend with her skirt down is the night he swears off girls that trouble follows.**

 **But, it's also the night he finally notices Beatrice Prior- a daring, little, blonde girl with a bad reputation and a thirst for thrills. She's the loner he ignored in middle school, but now catches his attention. The girl with a dirty sense of humor, foul mouth, a spot in the marching band, and a loud table at lunch that everyone sneers at but secretly wants to be a part of.** **After their run-in, a chain of events occur, forcing him to question if he should stick to his rules or take the invitation into Beatrice Prior's exciting life.**

 **Okay, everyone, enjoy:)**

 **-Scorpiius**

* * *

 _Paper Planes: Chapter One_

"Everything has to be perfect."

His hand shakes slightly as he places his mother's fine China down onto the glossy, wood table and the plate rattles on the surface. He can see the look his friend beside him sends him and he refrains from repeating himself for the millionth time this evening.

Zeke sighs and goes to a glass cabinet to retrieve the polished silverware. "And it will be, man." He assures, his tan hands placing the silverware down beside white cloths. "Everything will be perfect. The planets will align, all the stars will be out, gas prices will go down to a dollar-" He stops and smiles as his friend lands a punch on his shoulder. "But, most importantly, You will get laid tonight."

Tobias mutters something under his breath, something like "Ridiculous" and fidgets with the gold rings around the napkins, wondering if everything he's doing is too much. Linen napkins, precious China, and polished silver? Most teenagers would just go to a house-party for an anniversary, but Tobias Eaton has to be a dork and use all of his dead mother's fancy dinnerware. The scent of the lobsters cooking in the oven make him want to push the heirlooms off the table and just order a pizza for a night of lounging on the couch. Forget the pretentious dinner.

His friend's words snap him back and his hand draws back from a crystal cup on the table, ready to be thrown against the dining room wall.

"She'll love it." Zeke smiles encouragingly at him, forcing a sigh to escape his mouth. "You know she's a sucker for being pampered. Literally." He adds as an afterthought and Tobias lands another, harder punch on his shoulder, the tips of his ears flushing pink.

Tobias's hand quickly reaches into his pocket when he hears the _ping_ of his phone, hoping for word from Nita.

 _Gonna b late. So sorry love u_

He stares at the little kissy face emoji doting the end of the text before Zeke snatches the phone from his grip and glances over the message.

"She's not coming." Tobias mutters, a hand reaching up to run through his dark hair.

"Don't be an idiot." Zeke replies, exasperated, and hands him back his phone. "She's just gonna be late. Probably dolling herself up for you."

The harsh sound of the oven beeping startles both boys, causing them to jump. Zeke follows Tobias into the kitchen and watches him put on a mitt and open the oven door. A surge of heat fills the kitchen. Tobias roughly sets the glass dish of lobster down on the stove top. "You don't know her." He mumbles, continuing the conversation.

"Tobias Eaton, do not start the fucking moping." Zeke snaps at his friend, reminding him of his mother, who wags her finger at him during every lecture and snaps her words like a rubber band. "She'll be here. It's your guys's two-year, why the hell would she not come?"

Tobias just shrugs, still facing away from him. He glances out the window, getting a face full of golden, summer sunshine. He watches the green leaves shake and shimmy in the wind as a warm wind passes and presses into the kitchen through the open window.

"Maybe I should just cancel." Tobias says, mostly talking to himself. "Reschedule for this weekend. I mean, we have our first day tomorrow and it's our senior year, and-"

"Dude, shut the fuck up! She'll fucking be here." Zeke tells him sternly. Then, he reaches out and pulls an apron off the hook and whips it at his friend. "Now, finish your damn lobster, you fucking woman-"

Tobias doesn't reply, not even an eye roll at the sexist remark, because the device in his pocket chimes again and he retrieves it excitedly, anticipating better news from his girlfriend.

Unfortunately, the new text does not make him smile, or sigh with relief. Instead, it makes him furrow his eyebrows in confusion.

 _Got out of it. B there soon;) Boys locker right?_

* * *

Music drifts through the open windows of the car as it glides down the street leading towards the school.

Tobias looks out the window in a daze, his thoughts jumbled and the puzzle pieces refusing to fit together. The sky is a glorious swirl of pink and red and purple and warm wind presses against his face. They can hear the marching band's evening practice from blocks away and Tobias suddenly feels bad for the people who live so close to the school.

Zeke mumbles under his breath and reassures him through the silence of the car, but his words just drift out the window, dust in the wind. Tobias wonders if this is just a mistake. Is he just blowing this out of proportion? Though his mind is so mixed up he can't decide if the text message is the mistake or the relationship.

 _Sophomore year_ , Tobias thinks randomly.

"I know, buddy." Zeke's sigh is filled with a twinge of sadness and Tobias realizes he said that aloud. "I know."

* * *

The feeling in his gut suggests that something is wrong.

The smell of chlorine is profoundly strong as the two boys venture through the maze that is the athletic wing. The biggest in the state due to the many donations made by crazy and rich sports-lovers. Zeke throws concerned glances at him once in awhile when he slows down the pace, almost like the further he gets into the wing causes a weight to bear down on him, dragging him.

The dark blue skirt on the gray floor of the boys' locker room confirms his beliefs and he stops dead in his tracks, looking at the article of clothing. Zeke grabs him around the upper arm and drags him deeper into the room, letting the door swing shut silently.

Then they both hear it: The soft grunts, moans, groans. The noises cause Tobias to turn a mixture of green and red, like a decorated Christmas tree, and Zeke squeezes his arm harshly, without meaning to, as they're confronted with two familiar teenagers groping each other against a wall of lockers. The boy's lips are moving against the girl's tan neck and her hair sticks to her forehead with sweat. Her lips are puckered in pleasure.

"Oh, fuck." Zeke says aloud, his mouth gaping open in shock at the scene. The horny pair against the lockers freeze and then break apart just as quickly as their hands were working moments ago. The girl squeaks and crosses her hands in front of her chest, an expression of absolute terror on her face. Her skin is developing a red flush with embarrassment. The boy smooths his dark, glossy hair back into place and leans back against the lockers. His boxers have ducks on them.

"Dude..." Zeke speaks again and tosses a look at his friend, who is just staring at the pair blankly, looking like a cardboard cut-out.

Tobias holds eye contact with Nita for a long moment, feeling like eternity, and nobody says anything. The locker room is completely silent except for the sound of a sink dripping. He recognizes the baby pink, lace bra she has on. He bought that for her for this past Valentine's day and she modeled it for him. They had sex on his kitchen island after. Finally, Tobias opens his mouth, closes it, and opens it again. "Happy anniversary."

And then he walks away and out of the locker room with glazed-movements, leaving Zeke to deal with them.

* * *

Tobias can't remember how to get to the parking lot.

He also can't remember why he cooked lobster for tonight, or why there's four heart emojis next to Nita's contact, or why he spent two years in a relationship with her.

And, also, he can't remember how to get to the parking lot.

Tobias drags his feet along the concrete sidewalk circling the school and he tries to step on every crack he sees. The sky is sinking into a deep purple and the lamp posts around the school are already lit.

 _Never again,_ he thinks to himself, running a frustrated hand through his hair. _Never again will I fucking mess with these types of girls_ _._

The music is still playing and he feels the need to follow it, like bread crumbs in a forest.

And then the music stops and he can hear a voice screaming through a speaker and that makes him confused and then the music starts and he hears the sound of hundreds of footsteps. Soon enough the band is in his view and he watches from the sidelines of the parking lot as they snap their instruments up and play.

He's never understood the point of marching band. Mostly because he's never cared enough to find out. It was full of the school's rejects and even though it's the 21st century, stereotypes are still in place and are holding strong. He'd rather get run over by a clown car than have to converse with the losers who think learning scales is the best thing in the world.

He shakes his head when his eyes cloud over and his body sways with dizziness and he spots Zeke's car from across the lot and his feet work without him, moving towards the cherry red vehicle, trying maneuvering around the marching kids . The band is overbearing and loud, making his head throb and he's about to scream because his head can't take anything else at the moment, thank you very much, and those drums are becoming extraordinarily-

"Oof-" Tobias grunts as his body connects with multiple people and he drops to the hard concrete and the music cuts off all at different times as a voice shouts. He doesn't try to move from his position on the ground and his ass is throbbing from the hard fall. He can feel little pebbles digging into his back and he closes his eyes on the sinking sky.

"What the fuck are you doing?" A feminine voice asks harshly, her tone like a hammer hitting in nails. "Get off the field or he'll fucking keep us here longer."

Tobias opens one eye and looks up at the girl standing over him. "Foul mouth." He slurs and his heads feels like a volcano about to erupt. She digs a sneaker-ed foot into his side and he slowly sits up, pressing a hand to his temple. He's never had a girl talk to him like that. Hell, not even a boy!

"Are you fucking deaf?" The girl asks and people around them titter. Her mouth moves into a smirk, and he figures the laughing boosts her ego.

He studies her. Her face is all angles, with high cheekbones that look like they could cut glass and a thin nose and her eyes are a stormy sky. Pale blonde tendrils are loose from her ponytail, framing her face and sticking to her skin with sweat. She holds onto a clarinet by her thumb and the webbing in between her thumb and first finger.

Tobias hears a voice, like it's screaming through a megaphone, in the background. He doesn't focus on it enough.

"Who are you?" He asks stupidly, earning more snickers, and her smile widens. Stars dance around his vision.

"Your worst fucking nightmare." The girl says. He notices how short she is and how familiar she is. "Now, get the fuck off the field."

* * *

 **A/N: End of chapter one! How exciting, a new story!**

 **How'd ya like it? I love writing wild Beatrice stories, they're my fave.**

 **Anyways, review and tell me what's up! I'd love some feedback! Should I continue?**

 **Love you all, always:)**

 **-Scorpiius**


	2. Chapter 2

_Paper Planes: Chapter Two_

Tobias is still in his pajamas when Zeke finds him the next morning.

He lets himself in with the spare key hidden under the potted plant on the porch after two minutes of knocking and no answer.

"Tobias, we're late." Zeke shouts into the large, eerily silent house. He's still standing on the Persian rug in front of the door. He kicks off his shoes and slowly pads down the marble hallway. He hears quiet mumbling drift from the kitchen and is soon faced with a pitiful scene. "Tobias?"

His friend doesn't say anything, just grumbles angrily as he scrubs harshly at the pure white counter top of the kitchen island. Zeke stares at the sheep on Tobias's pajama pants. The same pajama pants Nita got him this last Christmas as a cute joke. He shakes his head and sighs. A stool from the island clatters to the ground.

"Tobias, we're late." He repeats and his friend continues scrubbing. "It's the first day of school-" Scrubbing continues. "We have a student council meeting in fifteen minutes... Is any of this ringing a bell?"

Finally, Tobias lifts his head and makes eye contact with his best friend. It's a little unnerving and Zeke tries not to look away from his friend's crazy-eyes.

"We had sex on this island!"

Zeke says nothing. Tobias squeezes the sponge in his hand and soapy bubbles ooze out onto the counter.

"Sex." He yells at his friend. "Sex. On this island. I eat food on this island!"

"I'm aware." Zeke replies slowly, at a loss for words.

"It needs to be sanitized!" He shouts again. Zeke looks at the sheep on the pajama pants again and then back up at his friend.

Zeke regards the clock on the stove. "We have school."

"But, this needs to be sanitized."

"We need to go to school."

Silence again. The boys stare at each other. Tobias loosens his grip on the sponge and steps away from the island. He walks over to his friend and envelopes him into a hug.

Zeke pats his bare shoulder tenderly. "I know, buddy." He says soothingly.

"It's just so hard." Tobias's reply is muffled in his best friend's shoulder.

"I know, buddy." Zeke repeats. "You'll survive, though."

* * *

The room stinks of cheap coffee and gas station food, making Tobias's head throb. He reaches up to rub his temples as everyone begins to talk at once. Food wrappers crumble obnoxiously and someone burps. Laughter.

Zeke taps his shoulder and Tobias turns his stiff neck towards him, looking at his 'you good?' expression. He nods and turns back to staring at the woodgrain on table in front of him.

"I don't know why we're worrying about homecoming already." Zeke inserts into the conversation, his voice climbing louder than everyone else's. "It's the first day of school and right now we need to worry about keeping the waters calm. Our job is to help out as many little, confused freshman as we can." A quiet, polite laughter passes over the room before it quiets down again.

"It doesn't hurt to plan ahead." Someone mumbles and Zeke ignores the comment. The last thing he wants to do this early in the morning is discuss a theme for the dance more than two months away.

"We're Student Council." He reminds the people in the room. "Everyone is relying on us to make everything about the first day easier. So, everybody get a name tag and go find some kid to help."

Everyone grumbles and reaches over to the pile of badges in the middle of the long, conference table teachers use for meetings.

"Why doesn't the Student Body President give us his input?" Lauren Woodson says crisply, smoothing her name tag onto her shirt, right above her heart. She's the kind of girl that you mistake for a teacher most of the time. She lives in pencil skirts and colorful blouses and her feet are probably permanently raised, like a Barbie doll's, due to wearing heels everyday of her life. Everyone in Council likes to joke about how she probably came out of the womb in a pantsuit.

Tobias sighs and lifts his head from his hand. "I could care less about the theme for homecoming right now, to be honest-"

" _Not,_ " Lauren snaps. "about homecoming. What's your problem today?"

"I don't have a problem." Tobias says calmly.

"Bullshit, Tobias." Lauren replies. "You're letting your little henchman do all the talking. We know what happened with Nita last night, it's not something that stays silent in a high school."

Tobias sits up straight, his back and neck stiff and aching. "That's none of your business." He places his hands flat on the table in front of him to stop them from shaking. His name tag lays forgotten in the middle. How easily a name can get a reaction.

"Get over it. It happens." She says harshly, her voice firm and it sends a feeling down his back, like a nail is being hammered into his spine. He tries not to flinch. "You can't let a silly, little relationship effect your position in this school. You're Student Body President and you can't fucking throw away a job like that for a stupid girl that doesn't matter."

 _"Don't talk about her that way."_ Tobias hisses and shoots from the comfy, leather chair. Zeke makes a grab for his arm, but is shaken off as Tobias walks out of the silent room with rigid posture.

The door of the conference room slams shut, making the dry erase board on one wall quiver. Nobody moves.

"Harsh, Lauren." Zeke whispers, sliding his eyes from the table to her face. She's red, the flush of her skin matching the color of her blouse.

"Somebody needs to tell him." She shrugs, lowering her eyes.

"And, I'm not a henchman!"

* * *

She cheated on him.

The thought hadn't fully entered his mind and been comprehended until now, after defending her honor in the conference room.

She cheated on him with a team mate. He lifted with Peter Hayes every other day of the summer holidays and didn't think once about how that kid had been fucking his girlfriend behind his back, and for however long, he didn't feel like trying to figure that out.

Tobias rubs his tired eyes with the heels of his palms and puts his head in his hands, balancing on his knees. Kids bustle around him and fill the atmosphere with chatter, trying to enjoy their last few minutes of freedom before the school year starts. He hears the squeals of girls reuniting with their friends and can hear the deep male laughter as guys talk about their summer.

He suddenly remembers the start of the last school year, his junior year. They all thought they were at the top of the world, so close to their last year. Waiting outside on the school steps before the first bell rang, signaling the start of classes. He probably had his arm slung around Nita, laughing with Zeke and a couple other team mates. Nita was probably wearing something provocative and designer, with her leather backpack slung over one shoulder. She once told him that her mom still takes her shopping for a first day of school outfit every year. Tobias thought that was sweet. Nita thought it was lame.

Now, what was he doing?

Sure, he was on the front steps, like usual, but Zeke was nowhere to be found and Nita was probably still at home, getting dolled up so she could make her usual big entrance. But, this year, she wouldn't step out of his '69 Corvette Stingray and walk up the long driveway towards the school hanging off his arm. She'll strut up alone, or with her new toy, Peter Hayes, his stupid, shiny hair glittering in the morning sun.

Just the thought of how different everything already seems this year startles him.

"Excuse me, can you help me?" A familiar, feminine voice inquires above him. "I'm a little lost."

Tobias looks up at the noise and is instantly flashed back to a blurry picture of last night. He finds himself staring up at the girl with the sharp face and he squints at the sun behind her, making a halo-looking haze surround her. She looks like a painting of an angel, but instead of a delicate smile, the painter gave her a deadly smirk fit for the devil.

"Hello?" She waves a hand in front of his face and he blinks, watching her face take on an amused expression. "You go here, right?"

He starts to remember his duties as Student Body President and stands up, dusting off his pants out of habit. He towers over her by almost a foot and she has to crane her neck to look him in the eye. The twist of her mouth and the fire that enters her eyes makes him assume she doesn't like being looked down upon. Unfortunately, though, someone that short will have to deal with it.

"Tobias Eaton, Student Body President." He holds out a hand and she grins. He realizes how silly he must look, announcing himself in such a formal way. He can feel himself heat up.

"I just need some help, navigating myself through this school." The girl says, tucking a loose strand of blonde hair behind her ear. He notices the multiple piercings stuck in her ear and the little, silver hoops glint in the light. " It's very large."

"Best in the city." He smiles proudly and she raises an eyebrow slightly. His smile drops a bit in embarrassment. Why is he such a dork? He's the fucking star quarterback and he's melting with humiliation right in front of some band geek. He clears his throat. "So, do you want the tour?"

"That'd be great, thank you." He can't help but be surprised by her polite attitude this morning. This is the same girl that swore him out last night while he was down in the parking lot.

The thought leaves his mind as she starts up the cement stairs, towards the open, large front doors. She moves fast, despite her tiny legs, and he takes the steps two at a time to catch up with her.

They walk side-by-side for a while as he points out random little artifacts of the school and important rooms, meanwhile, his eyes search her every couple of seconds, trying to figure her out. He's good at reading people, at finding out their personality by just what they wear, his first impression of them, how their eyes light up at certain things.

But, he can't seem to understand her. Her jeans are ripped, but not pre-ripped, like she's trying too hard. They look like she fell down so much in them, they just started to become distressed. Her leather jacket seems a little heavy for the summer weather, but she doesn't seem to be uncomfortable. To Tobias, she doesn't seem to _be anything_. Her eyes don't light up at certain things, her clothes don't really hint at what she's like as a person, or what she enjoys to do that he doesn't know already. And her attitude is so all-over-the-place that he doesn't know what she's normally like.

He just doesn't know and that, for some reason, unnerves him.

"So, the cafeteria is obviously this giant room filled with tables and chairs." He points out, leading her through the big, bright room. Sun filters through the skylights and the one wall made completely out of windows exhibits the courtyard and the teenagers lounging around. Fluffy, white clouds float high above. He turns to look at her, but she doesn't notice. She looks at the big windows and watches the kids on the other side of the glass with a disdainful, little smile.

She can feel his eyes on her and she turns to look up at him. He grins politely and turns his head forward. "So, are you new here?"

"Mhhmmm..." Her stormy eyes lower to the clean, white titles. Freshly scrubbed for a new school year, soon to be tarnished by dirty shoes and messy kids. "I guess you could say that."

His eyebrows furrow at her cunning smirk and vague words, but he lets it go. Why does it matter? "Where did you move here f-"

"Tobias!" A voice shouts from behind and Zeke comes running, slapping him on the shoulder. The pair stops and her eyes widen at the tan boy. Zeke looks at the blonde, confused, but looks away and back at his friend. "Class starts in five minutes, we need to get to Matthew's. You know how she is about _punctuality._ " His nose scrunches up at the word and the girl stifles a laugh and he watches her bow her head and grin at the ground.

"I'll be there soon, I'm just showing a new student around." Tobias waves his friend away and continues walking, and the blonde follows close behind. Zeke jogs to catch up to his fast pace.

"Tobias, I don't think that's a-"

"Zeke, I'm almost done, okay? Just hold Matthew off until I get there." Tobias says. "She can deal with it."

"Yes, I'm sure she can, but Tobias," Zeke rushes his words as they leave the cafeteria and hustle through the corridor crowded with kids rushing to find their first class. "This isn't a new-"

The blonde, surprisingly, interrupts the boy and waves a piece of paper around. "I just need to find C214 and then I'll be fine from there."

Tobias nods and leads the way. Kids break into a path for them to get through when they see Tobias Eaton walking down the hall. "I'll meet you in Matthew's." Tobias calls back to Zeke and the tan boy disappears in the mass.

"All the 200 rooms are on the second floor." He explains to her and he looks down to find her nodding absentmindedly.

They don't talk after that. What would there be to talk about? She doesn't know him, he doesn't know her. Hell, he doesn't even know her name! And, that's how it's supposed to be. Football players are in a completely different _universe_ than band geeks and it'll be like that forever and he won't try to defy the decade-long rules.

Tobias Eaton will never consider breaking the rules. He's a good boy. He'll follow the stereotype placed on him. He'll be the star quarterback that runs for prom king and he'll find another girlfriend that's good enough and popular enough for him. He'll sit at the usual lunch table claimed by the team and get great grades in all his classes.

His life is the routine he's built for himself since freshman year and so far, it's worked out as planned-

Except it hasn't, has it? His girlfriend cheated on and by the end of the week, he'll be the laughingstock of the school due to it.

Those thoughts leave his head as a hand pats him on the back. He turns.

"Hey, Eaton, welcome back." Matt, a team mate, calls to him over the roar of the noise. "You ready for that game Friday?"

"As ready as I'll ever be." Tobias grins. Finally, he's starting to feel normal again. He's in his kingdom and everything will turn out great. "You better be, too, or you'll be running laps at practice."

"Yes, chief." The boy laughs and waves him away.

Tobias earns more pats on the backs, high fives, and catcalls as he travels through the maze of hallways, navigating the large staircase to take them to the second floor. He forgot about the little blonde more and more each time he was stopped and when he looks down, he finds her already looking up at him, grinning.

"So, you're a hot commodity around here?" She asks, turning forward and climbing the steps when they get to them. She's good a dodging kids as they pass, he notices. She seems to go unnoticed by other people. Not once as anybody stopped her to say hi, but those must be the consequences of transferring to a new school. He starts to feel bad for stopping to talk to so many people when she has nobody. He wonders if she would have anywhere to sit at lunch and if she would sit with him if he offered. He can't picture this little girl sitting at a table filled with football players and cheerleaders, though. Plus, he doesn't even know if she's in his lunch... she doesn't look like a senior, she looks more like a sophomore to him.

"Nah, I just know a lot of people." He dismisses her comment, slightly embarrassed. "Well, here we are. C214."

"Thank you," She looks him in the eyes again, with that intense fire that's always there. He's starting to get used to it, now. "I'll, uh, see you around."

"Sure, definitely." He smiles at the blonde and opens the door for her. Right away, he notices her stance change. She stands straighter, more confidently, and her gracious smile turns to a cunning smirk. It reminds him of the expression he saw last night. _Your worst fucking nightmare_ _._

He shakes his head at the memory and looks up front to the younger teacher standing in front of the whiteboard. French 4. The blonde is a senior.

The bell rang two minutes ago and green marker is already covering the board in a language he doesn't understand. He quit taking Spanish after the required two years of a language.

"I've got a new student here, Madame Blende." Tobias announces from the doorway of the French room and the blonde girl automatically ducks her head and takes a seat at a back table. She drops a few folders and notebooks on the desk in front of her and looks at her hands in her lap.

Madame squints her eyes at the little blonde in the back row. "That's not a new student, Tobias. I'm sorry you wasted your time" The teacher says, her French accent heavy. Her attitude was calm and her smile was breezy when he walked in, he'd heard about what a cool teacher she is, but now her lips are puckered like she bit into a lemon. She reaches into her desk and takes out a yellow slip. "Detention already, Beatrice?"

"I'm trying to break a personal record." The girl, Beatrice, replies. Her shit-eating grin is back.

The teacher waves the yellow slip in the air. "After class."

Tobias is still absolutely confused, though, so he opens and closes his mouth in the middle of the doorway, trying to comprehend what the hell just happened. "Wait... so, you're _not_ a new student?"

Beatrice cranes her neck to look at him from her chair. "Uh, no. Sorry?" Tobias doesn't think she looks like a 'Beatrice'. Her face is sharp and hallowed, her eyes are a sky right before the rain starts, and her blonde hair is like a halo. He thinks she looks like a rebel angel plotting against heaven with her devious facial expressions. No, she certainly does _not_ look like a 'Beatrice'.

He leaves when she turns back into her seat and puts her cheek down on the table, looking at him with a tiny grin, silently sending him a message saying _you'll never figure me out, but have fun trying._

* * *

 **A/N: Oh my god, guys, the reviews are fucking insane! 8 reviews? Thank you soooo much! And so many follows I can't even wrap my head around it.**

 **I missed all of you so much:)**

 **Sorry for any mistakes, ugh sooo manyyy worddssss**

 **Have any questions? Ask me!**

 **See you soon;)**

 **-Scorpiius, the one and only**


	3. Chapter 3

_Paper Planes: Chapter Three_

"I don't understand," Tobias says slowly, finding certain words with his tongue. It feels thick and useless in his mouth. "what you're trying to say."

His guidance counselor sighs and leans back in his chair, twirling a purple pen between his fingers. He's going bald. "I'm saying, you can't graduate."

Tobias has been told the same, repeated sentence for the past five minutes, but he still can't seem to comprehend the words coming out of the man's mouth. He's almost 18, Student Body President, an honors student... of course he can graduate! "I still don't-"

"Mr. Eaton." Mr. Beed throws the pen onto his desk. Tobias flinches and stares at the counselor's polka-dot tie. "You have not gotten the art credits you need to graduate."

Tobias almost laughs aloud, relief spreading throughout his entire, stressed body. Art? That's what this is about? "So..."

Mr. Beed rubs one eye with the heel of his hand and looks at the boy with the other eye. It's half-closed in exhausted. The first week must take a lot on a high school guidance counselor. "You can't graduate without them!"

"I took my two required art classes in middle school."

"That doesn't count."

"Oh." Tobias pauses. "Why not?"

"Because that was middle school."

"So, why can't it just transfer over?"

"Because it doesn't work like that!"

"Oh. Why not?'

"Mr. Eaton." The counselor groans and rubs at his wrinkled face. Poor man, and it's only eight in the morning. "The point is, you need to fulfill your art credits this year or you will not graduate."

Tobias just stares at him.

"Here's what I'll do, Mr. Eaton." Mr. Beed decides, reaching towards his desk to rip off a sticky note. He grabs his pen and starts scribbling. "Since it's only the first week, we'll make an exception. You'll take Art One this semester and Art Two the next. Those classes will cover the needed credits unless you fail the class." He hands Tobias the slip. The sticky note is a bright pink and the handwriting is barley legible. "So, my advice is: don't fail the class."

* * *

His mother loved art.

She didn't do it, at least not well, but she had a large appreciation for the beauty. Their house was filled with fake Monet's and local artists' work before his dad drew a knife through each one, claiming that every time he looked at the canvas, he could hear her laughter. Tobias figures it must be hard, living in the house of your dead love, and seeing them in everything there. But, he doesn't see the fine China and crystal, heirloom glasses as a nightmare of the past that once including his mother. He sees them as a memory of her and he likes to hold onto that for as long as he can.

His mother loved art, so he's trying to find the beauty in it, too.

But, the art room is foreign territory, and he has better, more important stuff to do than paint flowers or sculpt a teapot.

Oh, man. He can almost _feel_ her glaring down upon him from the afterlife for thinking that.

"Welcome to our class, Tobias." The art teacher smiles up at him from her seat behind her desk. It's not a regular, metal desk like all the other teacher's have. The top is a slab of gleaming cherry wood, held up by angels and roses, carved from the same material. He looks at that instead of her. "You may call me Miss. Johanna, if you please, and I can show you to your seat. We have a full house this semester!"

She claps her hands together and stands from her stool, leading him to the back table. All the other tables are full of teenagers of varying ages. They're all hard at work on something, already. Bottles of paint are scattered between desks and there's a low murmur of chatter. The room is calming with the quiet talking and all the colors.

Miss. Johanna's skirt swishes back and forth in a puffy cloud of deep purple and the multiple bracelets hanging around her wrists click together as she swings her arms. She gestures to an empty table. "I'm sorry to put you by yourself, but all the other seats are full-"

"This is fine, thank you." He assures her politely and her face splits into her usual, breezy smile. He tries not to focus his eyes on the scar running down one side of her face because that would be rude.

"So, our first project is a landscape painting." She says. Her voice is naturally calm and it washes over him like ocean waves. Maybe art won't be so bad. "You may pick any photo as a reference and you can catch up soon enough! Paint brushes are in the back, as well as paint." She points to everything she says, making his head spin. "If you have any questions, I'm happy to help you."

After that, she glides away with her swish-y skirt and clanging bracelets, leaving him to himself.

He sits on the stool, placing his books in front of him, and splaying his hands out on large piece of paper on the table. Sun filters through the windows and he has a perfect view of the football field from his seat. The quiet rumble of talk makes him feel, for once in his life, utterly alone.

It's a strange feeling. He's been alone before, his dad leaves him almost every week for business trips to fancy locations, and some of his classes are filled completely with kids he doesn't take to regularly. But, the people in his classes know him, maybe even admire him, but the students in here... they act like they could care less about his existence, they don't even bat an eyelash at him.

This is different, so different it's almost painful. This isn't a place he's familiar and comfortable in. He's not an artist and he doesn't like to mingle with the geeks who are. His home is out the window, the football field, but he's stuck in here, forced to survive in a strange environment, feeling like the kind of kid he usually ignores...

"Hey, Miss. Johanna." A familiar voice chirps suddenly, startling him. He looks towards the front and watches as the girl with the sharp face closes the door behind her and starts towards the art teacher's desk, a stack of books in one hand and a large folder in the other.

"Back again, Tris?" Miss. Johanna laughs a delicate laugh. He thinks that if a flower could laugh, it would have her laugh.

The girl with multiple names smiles and hands her a slip, shuffling her books. She sets the large folder on the ground, leaning it against her shin. Tobias has never seen her smile like that. It's soft, like a blurry picture, unlike her other harsh expressions. He likes this smile better than her other ones. It feels real and not like she's trying to impress someone. "I'm just trying to catch up on some stuff, since I can't come after school."

"Detention, again?" Miss. Johanna inquires.

She waves the question away with her free hand. "Caught cutting English-"

"Beatrice Prior..."

"Oh, it's nothing, Miss. Johanna. It's just English! I already know the language!"

"You need to go to class, Tris."

"Well, I can't now! I'm in study hall." She replies smartly and the teacher smiles again. Her next words are quieter, he can hardly hear them, and her smile is bright. He imagines that if he were closer, her eyes would be sparkling with stars. "I've been offered an interview."

Miss. Johanna claps her hands together and places her fingers over her grinning lips. "Oh, Tris, that's wonderful. Where?"

"Yale."

"Oh, Tris." Miss. Johanna repeats. She stands from her stool and embraces the girl from across the desk, her books a barrier in the middle, but they're both grinning like fools, probably not even noticing.

"It's a six-point-eight acceptance rate, but I'm just happy to have gotten an interview!" The blonde says, parting from the teacher. Both their eyes shine. "God, _Yale University_." She speaks wistfully, like the school is a dream and she knows she has absolutely no chance of getting in. To Tobias, she seems like the type of person that'll fight for anything she wants, not just give into wishful thinking.

"You'll have to share your table today." Miss. Johanna tells her and Tobias hastily looks away from the pair. He feels a burning gaze on him, but he doesn't look back up. "I have a new pupil today."

"Why's he here?" She asks. The words could've been said harshly, but her voice is bland, indifferent. He hears no malice, curiosity, or kindness.

"Art credits." Miss. Johanna's voice turns blank, too, at those words. She must not like people just taking her class to graduate.

"Figures."

Tobias wonders what she means by that, but it obviously isn't good.

"I'll let you get to work, Tris." The teacher tells her gently, a smile evident in her tone. "Congratulations."

Tobias sneaks a glance and watches the girl nod her thanks with a small curve of the mouth and then she heads towards him, towards her usual table.

She drops her books on the window sill and places the large folder on the table. It's gray and made of some thick, papery material. He looks back down at his blank piece of paper.

"Funny seeing you here." She speaks to him, a funny tone to her voice that he can't place. She opens the folder and takes out a thick, white board. It's covered in paint, a landscape of a Victorian house. He wonders if it's her house.

"Very funny indeed." He mutters in reply. He doesn't see her lips twitch in a smirk as he takes out his phone to look up random scenery for the painting he's supposed to be catching up on. He doesn't have time to make new friends with some art chick/band geek.

They work in silence. She moves around the room, gathering paint and brushes, sometimes conversing with random students. She sits next to him, so close her elbow sometimes touches his when she strokes the brush a certain way. He can't help but watch her. It's amazing, seeing something come to life, being put together, like a puzzle.

"I'm sorry," The girl mumbles, her hand still moving. Her wrist is thin and bones stick harshly from her skin when she bends her wrist in an weird position. Her eyebrows furrow when she concentrates. He looks up from his phone. "about Monday."

"It's fine." He doesn't really think of it as a big deal, but it's nice to get an apology. Wild kids hardly ever admit to committing a wrong.

She sighs and then takes her brush away from the painting. She looks right at him and he remembers the fire, from yesterday, that always seems to reside in her eyes. "It's just," She looks away hastily and dips the paint brush in a blob of gray paint, stirring it around. "my friends and I have a tradition of getting detention on the first day. Every year since sixth grade."

He doesn't know what to say. He doesn't know why this strange, fiery girl is talking to him, or why he's even allowing it.

"I'm Tris." She finally introduces herself. She doesn't offer her hand or anything like that, she just continues to stir the paint.

"Tobias."

"I know." She grins.

"Oh. Right." Her grin gets larger. He fidgets in his seat.

The bell rings and he shoots from his stool, startled, knocking it to the ground. She smiles down at her painting, lifting the brush and starting again on the picture, as he picks up the stool. He collects his books and turns to leave, but hesitates, spinning to look back at the blonde girl, still sitting at the table, calmly painting while sunshine shines onto the table and a nice, summery breeze passes through the few open windows. He remembers how he compared her to a rebel angel.

"I'll, uh, see you around." He offers as a polite departing.

Her mouth curves. Her lips are naturally dark, reminding him of fresh raspberries. Her hair is messy, tugged into a ponytail, like on Monday. Piercings glint in her ears again. A rebel angel. "You bet."

* * *

 **A/N: Our first official encounter! How exciting!**

 **So, now you kinda get a glimpse into Tris's life. This story will mainly be following Tobias, btw.**

 **The reviews, follows, favorites... omg guys! There so good, I love you all so much I'm updating on a Sunday night!**

 **So, for all of you wondering about One of the Boys, I'm not completely quitting it. I've invested so much effort into that fucking story, but right now I need a break from it and I really like this story, so I'll be devoted to this right now! Check back later, sorry.**

 **Okay, guys, that's it for me. Any questions? Ask! I'm always here!**

 **Sorry for any mistakes!**

 **Love ya:)**

 **-Scorpiius**


	4. Chapter 4

_Paper Planes: Chapter Four_

Her dark hair reached towards the mulch when she threw her head back as the swing descended to the ground, her laugh drifting through the breeze. The air was starting to chill by October and Tobias gripped the cold chains of his own swing loosely, watching her with a tiny, amused smile.

The sun was slowly starting to creep over the horizon, spilling sunshine like a broken egg yolk. The sky was painted a serene blue that day.

The playground was completely abandoned, except for the two teenagers.

Nita squealed excitedly as her swing reached its highest point and she jumped from it. She landed badly on her feet and her body wobbled before she rolled to the ground. Tobias shot from his swing and ran to her, and when he tugged her into sitting position, she just laughed. Little leaves were stuck in her thick, straight hair.

He saw a fire in her eyes then. He lightly gripped her face with one hand and, with the other, pulled the pieces of nature from her hair. He looked at her adoringly.

"Now you can check 'playing at a playground before sunrise' off your bucket list." Nita informed him, hopping onto the hood of his car and crossing her legs. They were bare, her light yellow sundress rode up, exposing goosebumps layering her skin. His jacket was around her shoulders. She didn't seem bothered by the chilly, morning temperature.

"I can also check off 'having the most beautiful girlfriend'." Tobias replied, putting his hands on either side of her legs, enclosing her.

She hummed and leaned in, pressing a kiss to his lips. He warmed up automatically. She pulled away first.

"I've got sandwiches in the car." Tobias told her and she clapped her hands together.

He got the car two weeks ago, for his sixteenth birthday. It was certainly a beauty; a sleek, vintage Corvette Stingray. He gushed about it to Nita over the phone when his dad left for work- Tobias was surprised he even remembered his birthday, let alone got him an amazing car -but Nita didn't seem too thrilled about the type of car, she just cared about all the free rides she could get. Her sixteenth birthday wasn't until May.

He handed her a peanut butter sandwich, no jelly because he knew how much she detested it, and he bit into his own.

She reached into the pocket of her sundress and pulled out a flask. She unscrewed it with her teeth and held it under his nose. It smelled like the nail polish remover he remembered his mother using and he wrinkled his nose. "Athletic Code of Conduct." Is all he said and she shrugged, tipping her head back and downing the alcohol. He didn't dare to remind her that she, also, had a Code of Conduct for cheerleading. He took another bite of his sandwich. The peanut butter glued his mouth shut.

His girlfriend was breathtaking. He knew that, so did everyone else, but that didn't mean she was perfect. She had her habits, ones that he wasn't proud to share with anyone else. She drank like his father and every time he kissed her, he tried to forget that her mouth tasted like an ashtray.

"So, I wanted to talk to you about something." Tobias started as Nita finished her sandwich. She regarded him, her thin eyebrows furrowing.

She reached over, taking his hand. Her hand was freezing and her nails were long points. "What's that?"

"When am I meeting your parents?" He asked, watching as she looked out on the horizon.

She automatically exhaled and dropped his hand. "That's what this is about?" She laughed. "You worried me."

"Nita, it's been, like, three months-"

"Ugh, Tobias," Nita groaned, flicking her hair over her shoulder. She unscrewed the cap of the flask and took another gulp. "stop suffocating me. You have to give me time! My family is, like, _crazy_."

Tobias's eyes widened. He witnessed that Nita before: the defensive Nita that, if you press too hard, will flip out. But, he wasn't used to it yet.

"I'm just asking-"

"Well, stop." She said harshly and he cringed away from her. "It'll happen at the right time."

"Okay." Tobias murmured. "Sorry I asked. Jesus."

"It's okay." Nita replied smoothly, like he did something wrong and she was just reassuring him. Like a baby who pulled the dog's tail. He tried not to get annoyed. She hopped from the hood of the car and turned to him. "Race you to the Merry-Go-Round!" And then she took off, her long, dark hair flying behind her. Her laugh drifted toward him and he couldn't help but follow its trail, trying to forget what happened.

But, he copied the look in her eyes to his memory. There was a fire there, burning brightly in her chocolate eyes and he's seen that familiar fire somewhere else-

 _Whack!_

His forehead smacks the top of the lunch table as his elbow is shoved off the surface, forcing his hand to stop supporting his head. The memories fly from his mind.

"What the fuck-" He groans, lifting his head and rubbing a hand to it.

Zeke shoves a handful of potato chips into his mouth. "You've been staring for the past five minutes." He speaks with his mouth full and his shoulders form a shrug.

He looks across the cafeteria and finds Nita giggling with her friends. She doesn't sit with him anymore, which is a given, but it still surprises him every time she takes a seat at a table at the opposite end of the room.

"That doesn't mean you have the right to physically abuse me." Tobias mutters and Zeke pats him on his back. He looks down at his apple core. When did he eat an apple?

"You're right. I'm sorry, honey." Zeke apologizes, fake sincerity oozing from his voice. "I'll just stick to what I do best: emotionally abusing you."

"You're an asshole."

"But, I'm _your_ asshole, right?"

"Stop talking." Tobias tells him, rubbing his temples. "I have a headache now."

He hears him chew another handful of chips. It radiates through his skull. He wonders if he has a giant red welt on his forehead. It sure feels like it.

A high-pitched scream grabs his attention, as well as everyone else in the cafeteria, and he whips his head towards the disturbance.

Tris sits at the round table right in the center of the room, laughing and squealing as food is thrown her way by the other people at the table. She grabs a spoon and launches a tater-tot at a girl with deep mocha skin and dark hair. The girl just catches it, with a free hand that isn't holding a utensil, and pops it into her mouth. Tris bursts into laughter and lobs another one as an apple slice is thrown at her head, hitting her ponytail. She playfully glares at the culprit.

The entire table is loud and alive, smiling and laughing while food flies, but everyone around them sneers and rolls their eyes. Tobias just watches the blonde as her checks alight with a pink hue and her eyes are flaming. Hair falls from her ponytail as she pulls her arm back to throw another food-bomb at her next victim.

He can't help but notice that the innocence of her blush is adorable. He doesn't know her, doesn't _want to_ because she reminds him too much of Nita and her rebellious, wild ways, but he does know that she skips class, thrives for detention, and has a foul mouth. She's a bad girl, but the little flush of her cheeks is endearing to him.

He wonders how he's never noticed her before. She's been in his lunch every year, probably since grade school, but now he's finally just realized her existence. And her existence is _loud._ So loud it's hard to _not_ notice her and watch with curiosity. Tobias thinks it would be a crime to not acknowledge her presence.

There's just something about her that demands justice.

He doesn't want to know her. He doesn't want to be put through another hurricane that is a bad girl's life. No, Tobias doesn't want to know her, but you can't always get what you want.

His entire body is set on fire as she takes her eyes off the fight to look right at him. He shivers, despite the intense heat washing over him, and her eyes dig into him, looking into every crevices, examining him. Finally, her mouth curves into her usual smirk.

Her eye closes in a sly wink and he gulps, looking back down at his apple core.

* * *

He looks for her in the swarm of teenagers wearing black-and-red marching band uniforms.

It's difficult to pinpoint her with everyone moving at once, dressed in the same thing. But, finally, he notices the shortest clarinet and watches, her face contorted in concentration. Tendrils of blonde hair are falling from her hat and sticking to her face with sweat, caused by the humid, late summer night. The instrument is in her mouth and her fingers move quickly over the keys. He can't take his eyes off her.

She looks so _real_. Her face is blotchy red and slick with sweat and her hair is shoved into the hat. Her uniform is shapeless on her and, honestly, not attractive in any way, but he likes her this way. So focused she doesn't have time to think about which way she should shift her face to make her look more scary. Nita was never like this. She was always prim and proper; never sweaty and gross, always dressed fashionably, makeup always done. Tobias always thought she was the most beautiful thing he's ever laid eyes on...

He's starting to go back on that statement, though.

* * *

Cheers fill the restaurant just as the team enters and Tobias's face smooths into an exhausted, but proud smile.

It's team tradition to hit up Pedrad's Pizza Shack after every home game for celebratory junk food. Tobias has always liked it at Pedrad's; it's warm and inviting and smells like good food, which is why he has never minded joining Zeke there for homework. Hana always brings out new pizza creations and has them taste-test them. They never really get any homework done, but he doesn't really care when his stomach hurts from laughing and too much pizza.

He clinks his glass with Zeke's at their usual table. He praises his team mate and best friend and takes a sip of the Vanilla Coke, the only kind he drinks. Chatter and laughter surrounds him in a nice, cozy blanket. _This_ is where he belongs. He belongs surrounded by the most admired people in school, clinking drinks with his best friend after a great win. He belongs in the life that he's made for himself.

But, then he catches Nita's eye from across the restaurant and he feels an ache in his heart and embarrassment flushes his face against his will. She turns her head away quickly, her long ponytail whipping her in the face.

Maybe he doesn't belong here, anymore.

The bell above the door jingles and a loud voice calls out, making Zeke groan into his Sprite. "Yo ma, where's the pizza at?"

Tobias sometimes forgets Zeke has a younger brother until he's right in front of him. Uriah Pedrad looks nothing like Zeke, their only similarity is the dark, olive coloring of their skin and the dark, shaggy hair.

Hana Pedrad walks out of the kitchen with a grin on her face, wiping her floury hands on a pink polka-dot apron. Her dark hair is held up by an alligator clip, little tendrils falling around her round face and a line of flour is smudged across her forehead. She either doesn't notice or doesn't care.

She envelopes her youngest son into a hug and Uriah struggles to get out of her motherly grip. That's when Tobias notices the blonde, standing in the corner next to the claw machine. Her hands are moving in quick gesticulations as she talks to the same girl she pitched a tater-tot to earlier at lunch. Her eyebrows are arched upwards and her face looks serious. She pulls a phone from the band of her shorts and looks at it, her eyes skimming over the screen. Then she hands it to the girl and crosses her arms, her mouth twisted like she bit into a lemon.

Zeke grumbles from the seat next to him. "What the hell is he doing here?"

Tobias looks at his friend. Uriah and Zeke are very close, from what he has heard, but most older siblings don't like their baby brothers following them around, so he can't blame him for being annoyed. "Well, he probably wants pizza."

Zeke gives him a look and then turns his attention back to his brother, who's talking to an excited-looking Hana. "Yeah, but him and his band geeks usually go to Amanda's."

All Tobias knows about Amanda's is that it's a tiny, little diner closer to the city, unlike Pedrad's, which is only a couple blocks from the high school. Amanda's is only about a ten minute drive, but Pedrad's is more convenient when curfew is eleven and they get out of the stadium at ten.

"What's up, big bro?" Uriah asks cheerfully, swaggering up to the team's table and pulling a slice of pizza from the platter. Tobias sees Tris, out of the corner of his eye, slide into a booth, still talking to her friend. A blonde male sits next to the mocha-skinned girl and is having conversation with a harsh-looking girl with a shaved head. It's quite a unique group, Tobias'll say.

"What do you think you're doing?" Zeke asks sternly, flicking his brother's ear. Uriah doesn't even flinch, just swats his hand away.

"Eating a piece of pizza." He replies smartly. "What're _you_ doing?"

"Trying not to strangle you because our mother is in the kitchen."

Uriah winks and takes another bite. The cheese stretches from the bread. "Good thinking."

"You know this is where the team goes after every game." Zeke snaps and Uriah swallows his food. "Why are you not at Amanda's?"

"Change of scenery?" He offers, the shrug of his shoulders.

He flinches when a loud crash comes from his friends' table and he turns his attention towards it. Tris is pulling napkins from the dispenser and lying them on the table, soaking up a drink. An empty cup is rolling on the ground. "It's under control!" She calls to him, offering a thumbs up.

"That's my cue!" Uriah says enthusiastically. He shoves the rest of the pizza into his mouth and ventures to his own table. Already, loud laughter echos throughout the restaurant. Tobias tries to focus on his own table and not on the little blonde with the loud mouth, but his team has been blanketed by an awkward silence. Pedrad's Pizza Shack has never been taken over by band geeks.

After about five minutes of conversation about the game, Tobias notices a flash of blonde from the corner of his eye and he watches Tris climb over the girl with the shaved head to get out of the booth. Tobias hates how drawn he is to her and he doesn't even know her.

From his peripheral vision, he studies her as she leans over the counter to the kitchen and talks to Hana, a smile on her face. She has black spandex on and he tries not to focus on a certain area that looks good in those shorts. She wears a marching band t-shirt, like most of the people she came here with. Black Nike socks up to her calves and weird, black marching shoes. Her hair is a mess and she bounces on the balls of her feet, her forearms resting on the counter top.

"Do you want me to get it?" Tris asks politely, but in her voice, there's a friendliness and familiarity as she talks to Hana Pedrad.

"Tris, it's your night off!" Hana's voice drifts through the window and Tobias can barely hear her through the chatter that's starting up again from the team. _So, she works here,_ he ponders to himself. He's never seen her here before. Maybe she's new. "Go have fun with your friends, I've got this."

"It's out of the question, Hana." The blonde laughs and reaches over the counter into the kitchen. "I've got it, don't worry about it."

So, she leaves the window with a pizza in one hand and a water pitcher in the other, and she heads straight for his table. Her smile is genuine when she arrives and she sets down the pitcher. She's so close to him, he can feel her heat radiating from her body. "Pizza refill." She announces and places the full platter onto the empty one. Then she sets to refilling water glasses. He wonders why she's doing this, especially if it's her night off.

A cheerleader scoffs from the lap of a team mate and covers her smirk with her hand. Tris looks up, a smile tightening on her face, and then looks back down at the task at hand.

Tobias hears the girl whispers behind her hand. _"Figures she would work here."_

The reaction from the blonde is immediate. A cup full of ice water flies across the table, landing right in the lap of the cheerleader, and she jumps off of her boyfriend, startled and screeching.

"Oh my god!" Tris exclaims. Her voice changes an octave and her smile forms a smirk. He examines her. Is it bad he feels like the cheerleader deserved it? That Tris did nothing wrong? Maybe. "I am _so sorry_. I am _such_ a klutz!"

She picks the water cup from the ground and when she comes back to her full stance, she grips the cheerleader by the front of her uniform top and pulls her down to her height. The cheerleader's eyes are wide with fright and the front of her red-and-black uniform is wet with water. Tris's whispers are harsh. "I don't even want to think about what you meant by your last statement, but if you say something like it again, I will rip your fucking tonsils out. Got it?"

The girl nods quickly and Tris releases her, slamming the empty water cup onto the table with a loud _bang!_ She picks up the half-full water pitcher as the cheerleader's boyfriend pulls her back onto his lap, consoling her. Tobias realizes that the entire restaurant is completely silent, except for Tris's group of geeks, who are all snickering behind hands. Hana watches from the kitchen's window but doesn't intervene. One side of her mouth is tilted up.

Tobias understands why she came over to his table in the first place.

She knew someone would start something and she wanted them to. She wanted to have a reason to fight.

He should feel scared, right? Maybe even sickened? But, he can't. He can't feel anything but impressed. He has no idea why.

She's a wild, little thing.

Her fake smile is back and she looks right at him, starting a fire that will someday turn into an explosion. She turns away. "Enjoy your pizza!"

* * *

 **A/N: Hellooooo!**

 **I've been so productive this week! Look at me, being responsible for once!**

 **So, you guys are absolutely insane and I love you! The reviews and follows and favorites are amazing! Can we try for thirty reviews before chapter five? That'd be fantastic:)**

 **Feedback is appreciated! Questions? Ask me!**

 **Oh yeah! I feel like I should say this before I like, get sued or something someday:**

 **I do not own Divergent or its characters, which belong to author, Veronica Roth. I just own the plot:) This will apply to all chapters!**

 **See you soon;)**

 **-Scorpiius**


	5. Chapter 5

_Paper Planes: Chapter Five_

 _Tris Prior has toned legs._

That's the first thought that comes to mind as she glides towards him on a pink bicycle Monday morning.

Her head is turned to look at her friends as they skateboard around her, her mouth opened in a laugh, teeth showing. He grips the strap of his black backpack and pulls it higher on his shoulder as he walks away from his car, trying to focus on what Zeke is saying to him, but her bare legs are long and tan and seem to go on forever until they disappear under a pair of loose, gray shorts.

He makes the mistake of looking away and tracing the cracks in the parking lot, but he can still hear the unmistakable loud laugh and the sound of skateboard wheels crashing against pavement. The tinkering sound of a bike's bell rings and her voice chatters in the background of his thoughts like static.

The next time he looks up, distracted, he watches her eye's widen as her bike speeds towards him and all he can notice is how defined her leg muscles look up close.

The front tire of her pink bicycle skids along the parking lot and crashes into his shin, knocks him to the hard ground, and sends the little blonde girl flipping over the handlebars.

Every noise in the high school parking lot goes silent as Tris lands on top of Tobias and the bike crashes to the ground. The air leaves his lungs- because of the blonde laying on him or because 90 pounds was just forcibly thrown on his stomach, he doesn't know. Probably a mixture of both.

After a few moments, she lifts her head from his chest and gives him an unreadable look, blowing a loose strand of hair out of her face. He stops breathing, which isn't the best idea since he's already out of breath. She laughs, sits up slowly- straddling his waist for the smallest number of seconds but _still-_ and gets to her feet. A small hand is held out to him.

Her fingers are covered in an array of different rings and her hand is cold but firm. The bones of her fingers and wrist poke through her skin, like they're trying to tear through and see the sunlight. He holds her hand for longer than appropriate after he's on his feet and he quickly plays it off by wiping the dirt off his jeans, face turning a shade of pink.

She doesn't say anything, so he clears his throat and avoids her cloudy eyes. "Uh, are you- are you okay?"

"Peachy-keen." She grins without missing a beat and he blinks in surprise. He watches her pick up her fallen bike and swing her leg over the seat. Tris gives him a subtle wink and rides away, towards her friends on the other side of the parking lot, standing in the only patch of grass, skateboards strewn over the green and clutched in hands. Their faces are a mixture of laughter and mild concern, like paint being swirled together. Mostly laughter, though. Obviously.

He watches her toned legs work the pedals, hips swinging, as she rides into the new day's sunshine.

* * *

She talks with her hands.

If she has things in her hands, she gestures with them, too.

Tobias watches her from the corner of the art room, sun streaming through the large windows and shining into his eyes. She holds the same gray folder and the same stack of books, another slip of paper in between her thumb and index finger.

For a moment, he turns his head towards her- can he pretend it's because of that damn sunshine basically blinding him prematurely? No, probably not-and she automatically catches his gaze and walks over to him and his lonely table.

He doesn't understand how he got here. After a week of knowing of her existence, he finds her everywhere. He looks for the flip of her messy, blonde ponytail disappearing down a hallway, the sun glinting off her little hoop earrings, listening for her loud laugh as he drifts down the corridor, passing random classrooms.

He doesn't understand how someone can be so addictive.

When Tobias was forced to enroll in Health class his freshman year of high school, he learned about addiction. Sure, most of the time he was slowly drifting to sleep while leaning against the palm of his hand, but some information sticks with you and bleeds into your memory, reappearing when you least expect it. His teacher told the class that it's easy to become addicted- you can become addicted to heroin after only one use, addicted to nicotine after one puff of the cigarette- and there are a lot of things to become addicted to.

Tobias is finally starting to realize the double-meaning.

He feels a blast of anticipation as she drops her pile of books and folder on the table and pulls out the gray, Victorian painting. He can't stop his mouth. "Is that your house?" _Idiot_.

One side of her mouth lifts in amusement. He curses himself. _Idiot_.

Her eyes look him up and down. "Yes..."

"It's a beautiful painting." _Stop talking!_

"I'd hope so, I've been working on it for almost a year now."

His eyes basically pop out of his skull. "A year?" He couldn't imagine being invested in something for that long. Then again, he had a girlfriend for longer than that. _Then again_ , look at how well _that_ turned out...

"A lot of detail goes into a piece like this." She tells him, a humorous glint brightening up her eyes like a lightning bolt streaking across stormy skies. "look closer at the house. Look closer at the _picture._ " She tells him, running the tip of her index finger lightly down the sides of the house.

He leans in closer and begins to see the different shades of colors separately and the delicate detail of architecture he missed with the naked eye.

 _Look closer at the picture_. He takes in painting and looks deeper, past everything in front of him, at the meaning hidden within it. He see Tris, but smaller- if that's even possible. She plays in the front yard, rides her bicycle in the long driveway. He imagines her splashing around in rain puddles right outside her red front door, throwing water balloons during the summer, and building snowmen in the winter.

His mind is thrust out of what he imagines her childhood was like as she speaks again. "It's beautiful, the way art works." She says to him quietly, almost shyly. "You can paint a picture of a house and that's what all the mundane people of the world will see. A house. But, some others will see something more. They'll see the meaning of the house, what lies within it. Those are the people you need to surround yourself with."

He's speechless and he can't focus and try to find something to say as the chatter of the other students dull to lifeless whispers.

 _Amazing_.

He wants to tell her she's amazing. Wants to tell her that even though it's only been a week, it feels like forever, and how he can't believe he hasn't noticed her until now. Years wasted when he could've gotten to know her, figure out her favorite color and food and movie.

 _You're amazing._

"Sorry, I'm usually not like this with new people." She tells him, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, fibers getting caught in the hoops. He thinks he's imagining the light blush dusting across her cheeks.

It's like he's seeing a new side of her, except he hardly knows any old sides. Is this her? The deep, shy girl that probably stares wistfully up at the stars in her free time? Or is she the girl with a sly grin and a daring glint to her eyes?

His head is spinning in every direction, but he knows one thing for sure-

 _You're amazing. What's your favorite color?_

He wants to know her favorite color and every other favorite after that.

* * *

 **A/N: Hi.**

 **Okay, I know it's not much after being gone for so long, but I've been trying to get some original writings done and this story WILL NOT LEAVE ME.**

 **So, I'm easing into this. A couple weeks until school starts (ew) and I'm gonna see what I can do. This story is not going to drag on like I planned it to, it'll be around 10 chapters. Probably.**

 **Hopefully this will tide you over until I can find some control with this story. Sorry it's not 2,000+ words like it usually is. EASE. PATIENCE.**

 **After not writing for this plot in so long I'm pretty happy about this chapter.**

 **I love you all.**

 **-Scorpiius**


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